I am walking 100K with NO SLEEPS for Citizens Advice Brighton and Hove

As the CEO of Citizens Advice in Brighton and Hove, I wanted to support our current campaign by completing a personal event as a way of saying thank you to my excellent and hardworking staff and volunteers who give their time and hearts tirelessly to the role, the organisation and the people we help on a daily basis. I am grateful for the time you give and the expertise you bring.

Many people don't know that, as a local Citizens Advice office, we are an independent charity that must raise our own funds. The funds raised in this appeal will be used to support our essential face to face advice services which are the first port of call for Brighton & Hove’s residents in the current cost-of-living crisis.

We are one of very few face-to-face services that individuals can access as more and more statutory services and businesses like insurance and banking go “online only” excluding some of our most vulnerable residents who find it more difficult to find a way forward by themselves.

Below is one example of the help that we provide. Please follow the link to our main CABH just giving page for more information

Thank you for your support

Jakub is D/deaf and couldn’t contact his energy company about his debts. He also had a dangerously cold home affecting his arthritis and health.

When he came to Citizen's Advice Brighton & Hove he finally found the help he needed. Our help unit volunteers were able to assess him and get him a referral to our energy help project:

We used a sign language interpreter support us to advise Jakub and to get his permission to contact people on his behalf.

Jakub’s energy company was contacted on his behalf to help understand the background to the clients arrears, and once this situation was clarified, a grant payment of £300 was made to the energy company, which was used as a starting point for a payment plan to clear his arrears.

The client was also referred by us to East Sussex Fire and Rescue for a home safety check, to address the safety issues which the client had raised in their appointment.